章 12: 0-12

"How was your checkup?"

Yu Qingyu lifted his sight from the bowl of watery stew he's been eating.

It was evening, around 8 PM, and he's been having dinner together with Liu Wei. He would have preferred to skip it, as with only a few hours left till the final stage of his mission, he was feeling particularly uneasy. But he still had to give the drug to Liu Wei somehow, so he had no choice but to join him.

"It was fine," he answered, trying to smile. "It's nothing particularly serious, just some deficits. The doctor said it's likely due to an unbalanced diet."

"Is that so?" Liu Wei glanced at the food he prepared with a worried look on his face. "Do you know what exactly needs to be fixed? I can adjust the meals to your needs."

Yu Qingyu felt a painful pang in his heart. "There's no need… He recommended me some supplements I can use. I brought some for you too!"

Liu Wei looked at him surprised. "For me?"

Yu Qingyu nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, of course! You eat the same things as me, so you probably also have some deficits, you just don't feel any side effects yet!"

He took out a small bottle containing some milky liquid from his pocket and handed it to Liu Wei.

"You need to wait at least an hour after the meal before you take it. But, you also need to do it at least an hour before you go to sleep!" Yu Qingyu added, trying to ensure the timing was right.

Liu Wei looked it around. It was a plain, transparent bottle, with just a number on the label, and no other information about the content.

It could be perceived as suspicious. But he fully trusted Chen Rumin, so he didn't question it.

"So, how much do I need to drink?" he asked, putting the bottle on the table.

"The whole thing. It's a single dose."

"Alright." Liu Wei went back to eating his dinner. However, a moment later he paused and glanced back at Yu Qingyu. "You have more, right? You're not giving me your medicine or anything?"

"Hmm? Of course not. I brought several portions." Yu Qingyu smiled lightly, trying hard to maintain his composure.

Liu Wei observed him sharply. Finally, he judged that Yu Qingyu seemed to be telling the truth, and dropped the topic.

Yu Qingyu stopped himself from sighing with relief. He quickly finished his meal, and returned to his room.

He sat down by his desk, turned on his device and connected to the security system of the base to track Liu Wei's movements on the cameras. He needed to constantly update Li Hangu about what was going on at the base, including the precise timing of Liu Wei taking the drug.

After what felt like forever, the time for the operation to start finally came.

An hour after Liu Wei went to bed, Yu Qingyu received the order to open the base. He swiftly moved to the control room, and lightly shaking from anxiousness, started disabling all of the alarms, as well the offensive and the defensive systems. Because of his nerves, his fingers slipped a few times, accidentally turning off other things, such as lightning and ventilation, but he quickly restored them.

It took him 15 minutes before he finished and got to the hangar to open the entrance to let the military units in. Li Hangu has already started losing his patience because it was taking him too long.

The soldiers entered, and started stealthily moving in, ignoring Yu Qingyu who was just standing on the side. He provided them with the full layout, including the location of Liu Wei's bedroom, so they didn't need his help in finding the way.

Yu Qingyu turned on the screen on his device to observe the action, just to make sure everything goes well.

And he froze in place.

A moment later, when he snapped out of it, he frantically ran after the soldiers.

Liu Wei was awake and left his room. He was currently walking toward the control room.

Yu Qingyu typed the message updating Li Hangu of the situation as he ran. 'But why?' he asked 520.

[Maybe he wasn't asleep, he noticed the mistakes you made turning of the systems, and it alerted him? But where are you going?]

Yu Qingyu stopped in place. Where was he going indeed? There was no need for him to follow the soldiers. He already notified Li Hangu after all, so the commander could give the soldiers new orders. His involvement was unnecessary. He was just feeling so on edge that he panicked and didn't think was he was doing.

He took deep breath and calmed down.

"Rumin? What are you doing here so late?"

Yu Qingyu flinched, startled. He slowly turned around.

Liu Wei stood at the end of the corridor. They were right by the control room.

"Ah, I…"

Before Yu Qingyu could say anything, the rushed footsteps of a large group of people could be heard, coming from behind Liu Wei. The soldiers have arrived at the scene.

Liu Wei immediately reacted, raising his hands to use his abilities to attack… But nothing happened.

His eyes widened in shock, but he had no time to think about it. Not able to use his abilities, he attempted to defend himself using hand-to-hand combat. However, it seems that the drug, aside from disabling his abilities, also significantly weakened him physically. In no time at all, he was pressed down on the floor.

"Rumin, run!" he shouted desperately.

Yu Qingyu stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do. 'Should I pretend to run away? So that he doesn't know it was me…'

Before he could make the decision though, he felt a hand firmly placed on his shoulder.

"Excellent job. You can get some rest now. We'll discuss your reward later." Li Hangu patted him several times on the shoulder, and slowly walked over to Liu Wei.

Liu Wei was observing the scene in disbelief. Even when Li Hangu leaned over him, and started mockingly talking to him, he still hasn't taken his eyes off Yu Qingyu.

Yu Qingyu turned his head away. He couldn't bear to look at Liu Wei any longer.

It would be fine if he was angry, cursing, swearing revenge… But there was no hate in Liu Wei's eyes. There was only pain, confusion, and sadness.

And that only increased Yu Qingyu's guilt. He bit his lip until he felt the rusty taste of blood in his mouth, trying his best to stop himself from crying.

In a daze, he followed after Li Hangu. They returned to the city, where Yu Qingyu was given a nice, single room at the military base.

He threw himself on the bed. '520… Aren't we done? Take me out of here…'

[You will be transported to the new world as soon as Liu Wei is successfully locked in a prison cell. It shouldn't take long. You can get some sleep while you wait.]

'As if I can fall asleep right now…'